Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 6 Ep 8 Warnings
by Andciritien
Summary: this is a follow up 2 my ep 6 "Dusted" and my ep 7 "Mortals" so if u haven't read them, u mite not understand this. plz r and r


Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Season 6 Episode 8 

Previously on "Buffy The Vampire Slayer"…

Buffy came face to face with Maia the Demon Hunter. Oz turned Angel human by accident, using the Hyoata concoction. Tara killed Maia, and left a note for Willow saying, "I'm watching you Pez Witch." Buffy and Oz went out after Tara, and Tara used a spell to give her fangs. The episode ended with Tara's new fangs in Oz's neck.

Little red stars were swimming around in Buffy's head. She could barely see straight, and thinking hurt. But, being the slayer and all, she got to her feet and shook her head roughly, ignoring the screams from her head. Despite the pain, it worked, and Buffy could now see clearly.

Tara was standing about twenty yards away, with her teeth buried in Oz's neck. Buffy's slayer instincts kicked in and she body tackled Tara, sending her to the ground. Oz collapsed in an unconscious heap.

Buffy was up before Tara, and she pulled a stake from her belt. But Tara opened her mouth in a wide grin. Her fangs began to shrink, until they were normal teeth again.

"Sorry Slayer." She giggled before running into the darkness. Buffy was going to follow, but Oz was lying possibly dead at her feet.

Buffy crouched down beside Oz, and took his pale wrist into her hand. His pulse was there, but it was weak. Buffy pulled her bandana from her long locks of blonde hair, and tied it loosely round Oz's neck, to prevent him losing more blood from the two neat puncture holes in his thraot.

"Oz? Oz are you awake? Can you hear me?" Buffy asked quietly as she gently shook Oz's shoulder. Oz's eyes flickered open. He squinted up at her.

"Buffy?" He murmured, visibly confused.

"You had me scared. Can you walk?" Oz tried to get to his feet. Buffy pulled at his arm, and draped it around her shoulder, to give him extra support.

"I think so. Where's Will?" Oz asked as they shuffled out of the cemetery, and onto the street.

"She's at home, with Dawn."

"Good. Are we going to the hospital?"

"I think we should. It won't take long."

"I need to get back to Will. She was worried."

"We'll call her as soon as we get there Ok? I just want to make sure you're gonna be fine, and then we'll go home."  
"Buffy…"  
"No more arguments." Buffy added firmly. She looked down the street, desperately hoping for something.

"Giles!" She called as she saw his car. He pulled over beside them.

"Buffy, what happened?" He asked as he got out the car.

"Tara bit Oz. Listen, we need to get him to the hospital, fast. I think he's going into shock." Buffy informed him. Oz was unconscious again, and Buffy was holding him up.

"Lie him down in the back seat." Giles commanded as he took off his jacket. "Buffy, put your jacket under his head." Buffy did as she was told. Oz was unconscious again, which was good because he certainly would not like to be treated this way. Giles took off his jacket, and draped it over Oz like a blanket.

"Will Oz be Ok?" Buffy asked as she hopped into the front seat.

"We need to get him to the hospital, and fast." Giles turned the key in the ignition, and put the pedal to the metal.

I paced Buffy's living room frantically, waiting for news, a call, or anything. I knew I shouldn't be that worried, Oz could fight, and Buffy was the Slayer after all. But I still had a little knot in the bottom of my stomach, and I wasn't sure whether it was from fear or the baby.

About an hour after Oz and Buffy had left, the phone rang shrilly. I jumped a mile, but I picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" 

"Will, it's me." 

"Buffy! Where are you? What's taking so long?"

"There was a little accident…" I felt my throat close from fear.

"Accident?"  
"It's Oz. He got bit."

"Bit? Is he Ok? Where is he?"

"We're at the hospital. Oz is going to be fine."  
"I'm on my way." I dropped the phone into the cradle, and grabbed my coat. Xander stood in the doorway.

"Will, what's up?" He asked.

"Oz is in the hospital." I explained hurriedly.

"What?"

"He got bit. Will you give me a ride?" I asked breathlessly.

"Of course." Xander turned toward the staircase. "DAWN!" He shouted. Dawn appeared at the top of the stairs, and descended slowly.

She was looking lovely, with her long hair in a French braid trailing down her back.

"Where we going?" She asked with a smile.

"The hospital." Xander replied as he opened the door

"Who's in the hospital?" She asked. A look of fear flittered across her face. It was a look I had seen on her face a hundred times. Too many times.

"It's Oz, honey." I said softly.

"Why? What's happened? Is Buffy Ok?"

"Buffy's fine. Oz got bit. But we need to go now, to make sure he's Ok. Do you want to go to Giles' place?" I offered.

"No. I wanna come with you." Dawn answered.

"Let's go." Xander opened the door and we all rushed to the car.

The hospital was quiet. I sat alone, in a cold plastic chair, with Oz's jacket draped around my shoulders. Buffy was at the vending machines, Giles and Xander were at the toilet, and Dawn was asleep. 

"Will?" Dawn blinked. I stroked her hair.

"I'm here." She sat up, and rested her head against my shoulder.

"Where is everyone?" She asked.

"They're around. Somewhere." I shrugged.

"How come Oz isn't out yet?"  
"I don't know." I hadn't thought of that. Oz was taking an awfully long time, longer than he should, and with each passing second, my fear increased more than I could stand.

"He's fine." Dawn said softly, as if reading my thoughts.

"I know." I nodded.

The doors swung open, and Angel rushed in. He looked breathless, and flushed, his long coat billowing out behind him.

"Willow, what happened?" 

"Oz got bit. That's all I know."  
"It's one thing after another with Oz, isn't it?" I found myself smiling, despite the horribleness of the situation.

"He can be a bit of a klutz." I agreed.

"Yeah." Angel smiled slightly. "Who bit him?" Come to think of it, I didn't know who or what had bitten my husband.

"I don't know. I forgot to ask Buffy."

"Where is Buffy?"

"Vending machines." I looked over Angel's shoulder. "Or not." Buffy greeted Angel with a peck on the cheek.

"Hi." I noticed Buffy looked slightly pale. She sat down beside me, and handed me a candy bar.

"Buffy, who bit Oz?" Buffy looked at her feet.

"Tara." She answered. Inside, I reeled. I hated the fact that someone I used to love so much could be the cause of so much pain and devastation. But she was, and she was starting to make a habit out of it, a habit that would halve to be broken, sooner or later.

"Tara? But she's not a vampire, is she?"

"No. It was a spell I think. She said something, and she grew fangs. Then she bit Oz, I stopped her, and her fangs shrank."

"Yeah, it was probably a vampire imitation spell." I shrugged, and shrank back into my thoughts, of how happy life used to be, and how happy it could be now, if only Tara could move on. 

We sat in the waiting room, and waited for three hours. The doctors informed us that Oz was going to be fine the test results showed it wasn't that serious an injury, and that "neck ruptures" like this were common, and it caught in time, totally recoverable. Oz would be discharged as soon as possible.

It was about three in the morning before Oz emerged from his room. He looked ok, a little paler than I would like, but pretty much Ok. I threw my arms around him and held him tight.

"How you feeling?" I asked.

"I'm fine. Or at least I would be if you would stop trying to break my ribs." Oz laughed. I loosened my grip.

"Sorry." Buffy was shaking Dawn awake, and Giles was waking Xander, who had passed out about 2 hours previously.

"Is Oz dead?" Xander asked sleepily.

"Xander!" I exclaimed. 

"Is that a no?" Xander sat up. Dawn was rubbing sleep from her eyes, and she looked exhausted.

"Is Oz Ok?" She asked. Oz smiled at her, and took my hand in his.

"I hope so." Oz replied. Dawn stood and threw her arms around him.

"Thank god you're Ok!"

"I already have." Oz rubbed her back.

"Can we go home?" Xander asked grumpily.

"Yeah, I'm kinda wiped." Oz admitted. I squeezed his hand.

"Me too. It's been a long night." I agreed. 

Oz and I decided to walk home. It was a wonderful night, and the stars were at their most beautiful. I held Oz's hand tightly, I felt so protective towards him, and I couldn't believe I had almost lost him. Again.

"It's a beautiful night." I whispered.

"Yeah it is." Oz nodded.

"Are you feeling Ok?" 

"I'm feeling fine, maybe a little tired."

"You scared me so much tonight."

"I scared myself too."

"I thought you were going to die Oz. And I just kept thinking about what life would be like without you and…" I couldn't continue, I broke down into tears. Oz wrapped his arms around me and whispered in my ear.

"I'm right here, Will, I'll always be here."

"But what if you're not? Tara's getting stronger, and she's going to keep coming after you until she kills you." I sobbed. "And you'll never get to see our daughter, and…" Oz tilted my head back and kissed me. I relaxed in his arms, and allowed him to kiss me. It was a long, deep, warm kiss.

"Don't worry Will, I'm gonna be Ok." I stroked his hair.

"You promise?" 

"I promise. Do you feel better?"  
"Not really." I confessed. "I'm so scared."  
"There's no need to be Will. Buffy can handle this."

"I just love you so much. I can't picture my life without you Oz."

"I love you too Will. You'll always be my little Pez Witch." I smiled at my nickname. Oz grinned too. "Finally, a smile." 

"Kiss me." I breathed.

"Convince me." Oz whispered. I kissed him on the mouth. It was mind blowing.

"I don't think we're going to make it home." I said, with a slight laugh.

"Not a problem." Oz took my hand and led me back into the woods.

"I can't believe we're going to do this." I giggled as I followed Oz deeper into the woods.

"We don't have to." Oz shrugged.

"Oh, but we do." I disagreed.

"And people think I'm the wild one." Oz stopped.

"Why are we stopping?"

"Because no one will find us here."

"Good thinking. I knew I didn't marry you for your looks."

"I hope not." Oz smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Now, where were we?" I grinned.

"I believe we were…" Oz lowered his lips to mine.

I woke up late the next morning. Oz and I didn't even get home until 5am. Even then, it was a lazy day for us. We lounged around all day, and practically just stayed in bed.

At around 6pm, I started making dinner. Oz was sleeping in bed. He looked really peaceful. At one point, I thought he was unconscious, but he was just deeply sleeping.

Oz slept, and Oz dreamed. This itself was unusual, Oz tended not to dream at all, or if he did, he could not remember them. 

It was dark, and cold. Oz shivered, he was only wearing a thin shirt. He wrapped his arms around his body, trying to keep warm. He was in the woods, and a full moon shone overhead.

A giggle sounded in the distance, it sounded familiar. It was Willow. She was flitting through the trees, beckoning for Oz to follow her. He did, and he always would. He would follow her to the ends of the earth if he had to.

She looked very beautiful, in a full length flowing white dress. The moonlight picked out golden highlights in her hair.

"Hey Will, wait up." Oz called. Willow stopped, and turned to look at him. She looked different somehow. It was as if someone was wearing a Willow mask.

"Oz, I'm scared." She said.

"Scared of what?"

"Of you, of the beast inside. One day, you're going to attack me. And you're going to kill me."

"What?" Oz thought he was hearing wrong. He would never hurt Willow, had disappeared for months to make sure he wouldn't.

"If you left me, I'd be a lot safer, the baby would be a lot safer, even happy. But only if you leave."  
"How do you figure that?" Oz asked.

"Tara only wants to hurt you. I want you to leave." Willow smiled. Oz could barely breathe; it was as if his heart had exploded inside him.

"Leave?"

"I want you to go away, and never come back. I don't love you. You are just a stupid dog who deserves to be put down for everything you've put me through. You are so selfish, and if you loved me, you'll do as I ask."

"Willow, I love you."

"Well, I don't love you."

"Will, has someone done something to you?"

"No. For once, I'm finally thinking for myself." A shadow moved behind Willow. It came closer, and closer, until Oz could recognise the face. It was another him, dressed all in black, and wearing an evil grin. For some strange reason, Oz knew it wasn't him. 

It all happened so quickly. Oz had barely time to register the flash of steel, before the other him sunk a knife into Willow's back. Her mouth dropped open in an expression of surprise.

"Oz." She mumbled, before falling into Oz's arms. He caught her, and laid her down on the ground. He cradled her in his arms, as the other him disappeared. 

"Oz…I…"

"Quiet, don't talk." Willow's mouth filled with blood, and it trickled down her pale face.

"Will, please, stay with me. Come on, I know you can." Oz whispered, ignoring the fact that tears were running down his cheeks. Willow's pretty eyes rolled up into her head, and she stopped breathing. Her blood was all over Oz's hands, and his face.

"WILLOW!" Oz screamed into the darkness.

Oz's scream made me jump. He sat bolt upright, and his eyes flew open. I scrambled over to his side.

"Oz, are you Ok?" For a second, it was as if Oz couldn't hear me. He was dripping with sweat.

"I'm fine." He said slowly, his voice shaking. I stroked his hair, and kissed him. He didn't kiss me back.

"You must have had a nightmare."

"It was so…real."

"What happened?"

"You were in the woods, and I followed you. And then you said…" Oz just shook his head.

"Go on." I urged, with a soft squeeze of his hand.

"You said that you didn't want to be with me anymore. That I would end up killing you." I pulled Oz into my arms, and gently rocked him.

"I'd never say that Oz. Never."

"And then, another me came up behind you, and stabbed you in the back. You died in my arms Will, and I had your blood all over my hands." 

"Oh god Oz."

"It was just so vivid."

"Nightmares are like that." I soothed.

"It was more than that, Will. It was Tara." I kissed Oz again, slowly, and softly. This time, he kissed me back. He held me close, and kissed my hair.

"We have to go over to Buffy's. She's called a Scooby Social Night."

"Ok." Oz got up and headed for the shower. 

Buffy's house was jam-packed. Because Buffy wanted us over right away, no one had time for dinner, so Buffy ordered out.

"Ok, who wanted the spicy Chinese chicken?" Buffy called. I raised my hand.

"Me!" Buffy handed me the little white box.

"Who wanted the Indian curry?" 

"Me." Xander took the box from Buffy.

"Fish and fries?"

"That's fish and chips Buffy." Giles corrected her automatically, and took the package.

"And everyone else is for pizza?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, I'm starving." Angel smiled. Everyone turned to look at him. This was such a strange thing to hear him say.

"I am." Angel blushed. Buffy smiled and handed him a plate with some pizza on it.

"Oh, wait, who ordered two cheeseburgers?"

"Again, that would be me." Xander took the food from Buffy. Buffy stared at him, and shook her head.

"Xander, you are an eating machine." Buffy shook her head.

"And proud of it." Xander tucked into his meal.

40 minutes later, and all the food was gone. We were all scattered round Buffy's living room, sipping coke, tea, wine, beer, and orange juice for me. I tugged nervously at my shirt. I was starting to show, and I felt kind of self-conscious.

"Hey Will, can I talk to you?" Buffy asked.

"Sure." I got up and followed Buffy into the hallway.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I just wanted to say that you're um… I don't know, glowy. I guess."

"Really?" 

"Oh yeah. It's like…beautiful." Buffy gushed.

"Thanks Buffy."

"Oh, and Oz has been eyeing you up all night."

"Well Buffy, we're married."

"No, I mean, I think he's noticed."  
"He probably has. Oz is just so perceptive."

"Yeah, I think it's the whole werewolf thing. But you know, Angel's like that too. He always knows if something's wrong."  
"I thought he might have lost some of his vamp stuff since he changed."  
"Not really. He's still everything he was. Except now, he can do normal stuff, with me."

"Like what?"

"Well, today, we went a walk." Buffy grinned.

"That's nice." I smiled. I really meant it. 

"It's just so perfect, Will. Now we'll be able to do couple-y stuff."

"Like?"  
"I don't know. We could get married, and have kids, and…"

"Seriously? You want kids?"  
"I guess so." Buffy shrugged.

"Everything's falling into place now, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yeah, it is." Buffy agreed. I turned away from Buffy. There were raised voices coming from the living room.

"What's going on?" Buffy followed me into the living room.

Anya and Xander were standing in the centre of the room, shouting at each other. Anya was bright red.

"I'M SICK OF THIS XANDER!"

"SICK OF WHAT?"  
"EVERYTHING! I DON'T WANT TO BE HUMAN ANYMORE!" I gasped. Xander practically collapsed.

"What?" He ran his hands through his hair.

"One of my demon friends can hook me up with my powers again."  
"You're going to be a demon again? Who told you to this?"  
"No one told me to do anything."  
"Who was it Anya?" Anya looked at her feet.  
"Tara."  
"What?" Xander sputtered.

"She got me my power centre back."  
"Tara hates us. Why would she do this for you?"

"I helped her."  
"Helped her?"

"Over the past couple of weeks, I've been…talking to her."

"Talking?" I joined this conversation.

"She just wanted to know what was going on." Anya shrugged.

"And you TOLD her?!" I cried.

"What did you tell her?" Buffy asked.

"I told her the night that you and Oz went patrolling. And I told her about the girl…Maia."  
"You evil…" Buffy didn't finish her sentence. I stepped over to Anya and slapped her across her face. Oz touched my shoulder

"Will…" He warned.

"I'm sorry Xander." Anya picked up her coat.

"Where will you go?" Xander asked meekly.

"I don't know." Anya shook her head, and left, leaving us all in stunned, pained silence.

"Xander, are you…Ok?" Buffy asked quietly.

"Tara did this." Xander muttered.

"I know." Buffy sat down beside Xander, soothing him, or trying to soothe him, but he wouldn't let her.

"Why don't you do something?" Xander snapped.

"What?"

"Tara's just going to keep hurting us. And now she's got a powerful demon on her side. When are you going to stop her?"  
"Xander, we tried. Oz and I tried." Buffy replied.

"Obviously you didn't try your best. Aren't you the Slayer? The one girl in all the world blah blah blah. Why can't you stop her?" Buffy wiped her eyes.

"I don't know Xander. I did try."

"Yeah, I bet you did." Xander got up, ran his hands through his hair, grabbed his jacket, and ran up the stairs and into the guest room, slamming the door behind him. Buffy cradled her head in her hands.

"Oh Buffy, he didn't mean it." I soothed.

"He did mean it Will." Buffy looked up at me, as tears cascaded down her pale cheeks, streaking her mascara, and smudging her face.

"I have to go to the bathroom." Buffy muttered vaguely, before dashing up the stairs.

Ten minutes later, Buffy joined us again, looking pale and tired. Her hair was pulled up into a simple ponytail, and her eyes were red and Buffy.

She walked across the living room, to her weapons chest. She flung it open. We all stared at her, unsure of what to say.

"Buffy, I don't think you should go patrolling." I said slowly.

"I'm not going patrolling." Buffy replied without looking up.

"You're not?" I was confused.

"No." Buffy straightened up. She was holding a large axe. "I'm going witch hunting." She said quietly as she ran her finger down the edge of the blade.

"I don't think that's a good idea Buffy." I spoke gently. I didn't want to sound unsupportive and negative.

"Well, maybe it's not. But Xander's right. Next time it could be Dawn's dead body I'm opening that door to. Or Angel's. Or yours Will. We can't keep looking over our shoulders. I'm sick of this." Buffy slung Angel's leather jacket around her shoulders.

"Buffy, wait." Angel grabbed Buffy's arm. "I'm coming with you."

"No, Angel, you can't."

"If you're going, I'm going." Angel said firmly. Buffy kissed Angel. She winced slightly.

"Sorry." Buffy balled her hand into a fist, and hit Angel hard across the face. He slumped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. He was unconscious.

"Buffy!" I exclaimed, after I rushed to Angel's side.

"Tell him I'm sorry." She winced.

"You hit Angel!" I cried.

"I know! But he can't come with me. Not tonight. I don't want him to get hurt." Buffy explained. She crouched down beside Angel and kissed his forehead lightly, and stroked his hair.

"Sorry sweetie." She stroked his hair before running out the door.

"Someone has got to go with her." I said.

"How about Xander?" Dawn suggested.

"No, not in his state. He'd get himself killed."

"How about Oz?" Dawn shrugged.

"Yeah Will, I'll go."

"No." I said firmly.

"Why not?" Oz smiled slowly.

"Because. You've already been hurt." 

"Will, Xander's catatonic and Angel's unconscious."

"Giles. We'll get Giles to go." 

"No, someone has to stay with Dawn." Oz touched my arm. "I'll be Ok." He kissed me quickly.

"I hate it when you do this." I pouted.

"I'll be back, I promise." He smiled. I was holding onto Oz's hand, and as he left, his fingers slipped out of mine and he disappeared into the darkness.

Oz walked quickly. Buffy was quite far ahead of him, hardly more than a speck in the distance. She was walking slowly, hiding the axe in Angel's long coat. Oz cupped his hands around his mouth.

"BUFFY!" He shouted. Buffy spun round, and stopped.

"Oz what are you doing?" She asked as he caught up with her, and fell into stride beside her.

"Coming with you."

"You can't. You'll get hurt."

"And so will you. Listen Buffy, Tara's a powerful witch, and you'll need someone there who can at least do some magic."

"Ok. But I warned you."

"I consider myself warned." Oz smiled. 

"Good." Buffy and Oz started to walk. Buffy broke the silence first.

"How's Angel?" Buffy asked quietly.

"He's uh…he's still sleeping." Oz said gently.

"It was for his own good." Buffy said, her voice tinged with regret.

"I think I can decide that for myself thanks." Angel said, grinning as he stepped out of the bushes, a purple bruise on his usually pale face.

"What are you doing here!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Well you know, I figured I should tag, make sure you guys are ok. You might need a lil back-up." Angel pointed out, and Buffy gave in.

They walked along in silence, Buffy and Angel holding hands, Oz deep in thought. They had just reached Weatherly Park when Oz stopped.

"Oz, what's up?" Buffy asked.

"Tara's going to attack Willow and Dawn." he said quietly.

"What? How do you know that?" Angel looked at Oz, and saw fear in his blue-green eyes.

"Think about it logically. She's in contact with Anya, so she knows we were at Buffy's. Anya's probably told her that we've gone looking for her. Now is the perfect time, Will and Dawn are home alone, defenceless." Oz explained.

"Oh god." Buffy murmured, before turning on her heel, and running off, back the way they came, with Oz and Angel right behind her.

I was starting to freak out. Sitting in the living room, alone, while Dawn had went to the bathroom, I had heard a rustling outside. Then a manic giggle. I got up, slowly, and crossed the room to Buffy's weapon chest, that was still open. I had just picked up a nice shiny knife when I heard a voice behind me.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Pez Witch." Tara laughed. I spun round, holding the knife in the air in front of me.

"Tara, please leave."

"Come on Will, the fun's just beginning." She slapped me then, hard, across the face. I went spinning to the ground, and the knife slid away under the couch.

Just then, I heard Dawn coming down the stairs. I tried to yell out to her, but my voice was muffled. I heard her gasp, and I pushed myself to my feet. She had the knife, pressed to Dawn's throat.

"Tara, let her go!"

"Why? I've never killed a Key before. Wonder what it looks like." She murmured, tracing the knife up Dawn's cheek.

"Tara, this has nothing to do with Dawn."

"No, but it has everything to do with you. And I want you to suffer Willow. I'm gonna kill everyone you care about, and then Oz. Won't that be fun Will? You should stick around, things are gonna get very messy." She grinned, and the knife wended its way back to Dawn's delicate throat.

"You hurt her and I will kill you." Buffy's voice said from behind me.

Buffy, Oz and Angel were standing in the doorway, all looking extremely out of breath and flushed.

"Ooh look, it's the big bad Slayer come to take me out." Tara laughed.

"Yeah, lucky you."

"Buffy, don't get mad. I'm only here for one thing."

"And what's that? Sanity? Sorry, we don't dish that out here." Buffy grinned sweetly. Tara knelt down in front of the book shelve, and plucked out a small, black leather bound book from its resting place.

"Just this." She said, still holding the knife to Dawn's throat. "Next time Dawny, you won't be so lucky." She whispered, and flung Dawn to the ground. While Buffy and everyone rushed to help her, Tara disappeared.

"Will, are you ok?" Oz asked. I was shaking uncontrollably, and I let him hold me, and only then did I begin to feel safe.

"I was so scared." I sobbed into his shoulder.

"I know baby, I know." He soothed.

"She used to be so good and kind. I don't know how she can be this way."

Buffy looked at me, a look of loathing in her eyes as she comforted Dawn. The axe in her belt caught the light, and she pulled it out into her grip.

"I don't care what she was. If Tara wants to play with the big kids, she's gonna have to follow the rules, cuz if she comes anywhere near any of you again, I swear to god I will kill her."

And as I caught the look in her eyes, I knew she meant it.  



End file.
